Switched
by narutorocks13
Summary: An alliance is struck between the leaf and the sand villages, forcing the Kazekage to leave his children to proven he was the real deal with this treaty. How does life change when two jinchūriki grow up in the slums together?
1. transfer?

Author's note: hey 2nd story hope you like it

Disclaimer: I don't own any thing

Chapter I

As they walked through the village of Konoha, little Gaara's eyes grew to the size of saucers, taking in everything at once. Looking at the vendors selling food and produce, no one was glaring at him out of fear or distrust, and they weren't running away from him, as they would have where he was from. They were all just smiling. After six years being screamed at talked about behind his back, and ignored, it was amazing seeing so many smiles and they were for him. His father had taken him and his elder siblings, Temari and Kankuro, to visit Konoha.

He couldn't wait to tell uncle Yashamaru about how nice the people here were.

At the sounds of a commotion up ahead, Gaara looked up from his thoughts and saw a blonde boy about his age running toward him, looking back over his shoulder warily as he ran.

Curious, he called out to the blonde and asked what he was running from. The boy looked around cautiously, and then grinned mischievously at the red head.

"The name's Naruto Uzumaki! Heheh and I just played the best prank ever. But right now, I'm running from my teacher, Iruka-sensei! He gets really mad, it's funny!" Naruto said in one long breath, and looked at Gaara curiously, "Who are you? I've never seen you around before." He asked.

"I'm visiting with my father…the Kazekage. My name is Gaara." he said with a frown. Usually after he said his name people would run away, but when he looked up Naruto was standing there smiling at him. He even looked a little excited. How odd.

"Cool, the Kazekage is kind of like Hokage right? You know I'm gonna be Hokage someday! Well nice to meet you Gaara, but I've got to run before sensei catches up!" Naruto said, and in the distance someone could be heard yelling the boy's name. He laughed, "I'll see you later, Gaara!" he said as he hastily ran off.

Gaara watched the boy leave, followed by a frustrated chunnin with a ponytail chasing after him. He was stunned that the boy had no fear of him. 'I might really like this Konoha…' he thought as he ran to catch up with his "family".

He followed his father in to the Hokage's building along with his brother and sister. They walked into the room were the Hokage was sitting behind a desk. When the elderly Sandaime saw the Kazekage and his children, he stood up and bowed. The Kazekage politely returned the gesture.

"Take a seat, Lord Kazekage," the Hokage offered, and Gaara's father thanked him.

As his father sat down in front of the Hokage and him and his siblings were told to sit on the ground behind him. Then his father began to speak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Switch to Hokage's POV~~~~~~~~~~

"Come in," Hiruzen Sarutobi called, and the Kazekage entered his office. Behind him Hiruzen recognized the Kazekage's three children coming in behind him. The eldest was a girl about nine, who wore her hair in four spiky ponytails, there were two boys, one about seven with purple makeup on, and the last, a short little boy about six who looked like a young version of the Kazekage with the same crazy blood red hair; he guessed that these were his children.

"Take a seat, Lord Kazekage." Hiruzen nodded to him, gesturing to the seat in front of his desk.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage."

"So Hokage, you are already aware of why I am here. I see the need to strengthen the ties between our two villages and have decided on a solution. '' Said the Kazekage, folding his arms after he had sat down.

"Please, feel free to share with me your ideas and I will see if there needs to be compromise." the Hokage said.

"Through transfers you will receive my three children, and I will receive three of your ninja around the same age as my children. Two must be from ninja clans the other may be a genin from your lines," the Kazekage answered.

'Well that certainly wasn't what I was expecting him… but I suppose I will work with what I've got' the Hokage thought. But what was the Kazekage expecting? Perhaps he was hoping for an Uchiha, or a Hyuuga… this could be dangerous. But perhaps he could twist the Kazekage's request around, working with the vague aspect of the details.

He would need to give this some thought.

"I will think about what you have said and give you an answer by the end of the week." the Hokage said, hiding his caution with an encouraging nod.

~~~~~~~~~~~~Switch to Gaara's POV~~~~~~~~~~

What? Does that mean I'm going to stay here, that make me so happy, everyone's so nice and smiley like uncle Yashumaru. 'Oh no, what about uncle Yashumaru?' he thought.

He tugged on his father's robes and said "What about uncle Yashumaru, father?"

His dad turned and said, "I've already told your uncle what might happen. Its ok; he says that he loves you very much even If you are not with him." He said evenly.

He turned to the Hokage and said; "I will see you in one week. I hope that by then, you will have an answer for me, Lord Hokage." he said as he closed the door behind him.

~to be continued~

Authors note: I would like to thank my two amazing betas they helped A LOT with my bad grammar and talking thanks kinkitsune01 and .peaches you're the best betas a chick could ask for


	2. houses

Author's note: hey I'm back second chapter hope you like it R&R

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters just the plot.

Chapter 2

"Well lord Kazekage I'm glad that we could come to an agreement," said the third Hokage.

"As am I Sarutobi," the Kazekage said as he walked out the door, three children following, but the three he was leaving with were not the ones that he'd come with.

All three were boys around seven or eight; one had a rather large coat with a collar that almost covered his mouth. He also wore a pair of sunglasses, even though they were inside. Another was a cubby little boy with red swirls on his cheeks and a bag of food in his hands, which he was eating out of. The last boy was the strangest of the three; he had thick black braided hair and wore a plain white shirt, but his strangest feature were his caterpillar like eyebrows. If you haven't guessed by now, the three boys following the Kazekage were Shino Aburama, Choji Akimichi, and Rock Lee. These were the three children chosen to live in Suna while the Kazekage's children lived in Konoha.

The agreement was simple; every three months the parents would get to see their children, the first few days of the year the Kazekage would bring the three Konoha children to visit their families and friends, then three months after the Hokage would visit, bringing with him the parents of the three children who lived in the sand and bringing with him the Kazekage's children too so they could see their old friends and father. Then when the children entered the chunnin exams for the first time, they could choose to return to their home country or stay if they wish.

The plan was simple, but the Hokage still hated taking children away from their family even if their families had volunteered the exchange. This alliance would help the leaf village greatly, since their relationship with the sand village had been standing on shaky grounds for the past few years.

"Well children, now that you are going to be staying here for a while why don't we try to find families for you to live with," the Hokage said.

"Sir I know who I want to stay with," Gaara whispered as he grabbed the old man's robes.

"Really! And who would that be?" the Hokage asked as he picked up little Gaara and began to carry him as they made their way to the part of the Hokage's tower that had all of their things in it.

"His name is Naruto, and he is my first friend!" Gaara answered as he began to smile.

"If that is who you want to live with, I will try my best to work it out. Now did either of you meet anyone you might want to stay with while you are here?" he asked the two other children walking behind him.

"I met a girl whose daddy owns a weapons shop I think her name was Tenten, but I don't remember her last name," Kankuro said

"Well I met a boy whose hair kind of looks like a pineapple, he's really lazy and his name is Shikamaru Nara. Can I stay with his family? His mommy was really nice to me," Temari answered.

"I will try my best to find the families and ask them to let you stay with them while you are here, but until then you have to stay here in the Hokage's building, but you can run off and play for now. Just make sure you are back before its dark," said the Hokage. He watched the children run off to go find their friends and smiled to himself.

"Good, I think all of them will be able to stay with the family's they requested seeing as they are all ninja families they can keep these children safe. I think I can let Gaara live with Naruto it would be killing two birds with one stone; finding Gaara a home and giving Naruto a friend at the same time. That way Naruto will also have an ANBU watching him since Gaara will be watched by ANBU both of them being jinchuuriki they had to hove extra protection at all times at least until they were genin," the Hokage thought as he began walking back to his office to start on the endless pile of paperwork sitting on his desk.


	3. new friends

_~ Hokage's office_

"Hokage-sama everyone you requested is here," the chunnin guard said

"Thank you Kotetsu, please send them in," Sarutobi replied without looking up from his paperwork. He opened the door revealing six people Kakashi, Anko, Shikaku, Yoshino, Buki and Yasei

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice, before we continue, Kakashi will you do the gokuhijou seal on the room?" Sarutobi asked

"Hai Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied. He turned and made a series of hand signs at an amazing speed a frown forming on his face since the gokuhijou is an A rank seal for top-secret information. As he stopped and pressed his hands on the wall, the walls flashed blue for a second, showing the room was protected.

"Well with that taken care of, we can take care of business; the things I am about to tell you are confidential, and they cannot and will not leave this room."

"Hai Hokage-sama," responded all six people.

"We have recently made an alliance with Suna. Because of this alliance, three Suna children came here and three Konoha children went to Suna. Now these three children need somewhere to stay for the next few years; you were chosen because of your children's friendship with these children."

"Hokage-sama, I know that I do not have any children so why am I here?" Anko said her hands defiantly on her hips.

"Yes Anko, I know that; your assignment will be given to you and Kakashi privately afterwards," Sarutobi sighed, placing his pipe in his mouth.

"Yoshino and Shikaku, you will be taking Temari; she has just turned eight," he said, handing them a file with all of the girls information.

"Buki and Yasei your daughter, Tenten, has made friends with the elder boy; his name is Kankuro; he just turned seven," Sarutobi continued handing them a file as well

"When your spouse is on a mission, an ANBU will be near your house just in case."

"Sir you said there were three children, what of the last child?" Shikaku asked lazily

"Sharp as always Shikaku, that is where Anko and Kakashi come in, that is their mission. The children and their things are down the hall, third door on the left; please go retrieve them you are all dismissed. Kotetsu please retrieve Gaara and his things and Izumo go and get Naruto Uzumaki."

"Hai Hokage-sama," the two chunnin replied in unison.

As the four parents filed out of the of the office, the Hokage began to observe the two unique ninja in front of him; Anko, at 18 years, had seen thing that even he himself, three times her age, had never had the horror of seeing. Then there was Kakashi, who had lost his father to suicide. Both could definitely connect with the pain that the boys had gone through

"Both of you are receiving an A rank mission, to protect Gaara and Naruto if the need arises, this mission that will span over the next few years."

"Well what does this have to do with the brats from Suna?" Anko asked

"Gaara will be staying with Naruto while he is here .Both of you will befriend them and protect them. In this month alone, there have been four assassination attempts on Naruto's life; we don't want to go to war, because when someone tries to harm Naruto they harm Gaara.

"Hi jiji-san," Naruto said

"Good morning Hokage-sama," Gaara said

"Hello boys," his eyes glowed seeing the two boys smile and holding hands. The bond between the two of them had become unbreakable. Given the chance Naruto had made friends, and now he had a huge smile on his face.

"Naruto, Gaara, I would like you to meet Kakashi and Anko. They will be your new friends," Sarutobi said, encouraging the two jonin to take initiative and greet the kids

"Naruto, I think Kakashi is going to Ichiraku's Ramen, would like to go with him, he's paying," the old man said mischievously, knowing how much Naruto could eat.

"Woo! Come on Gaara, let's go eat with Kakashi-san," Naruto said, running out, Gaara in one hand Kakashi in the other.

"Anko I know that you don't want to do this, but I think this will be good for you. Naruto has been through the same things as you, by the looks of it, assassination attempts and such. You know what he is going through; he needs you," the Hokage said with eyes filled with regret.

"I never had anyone, and I turned out just fine," she said indignantly.

"Yes, but you had parents for the first twelve years of your life to teach you and help you grow. He has had nothing but hate. Please Anko; this is why I chose you. None of the other kunoichi can't help him the way you can."

"Hai Hokage-sama, I will look over him and protect him from heartless bastards. If I find anyone picking on the gaki's, I will send them straight to Ibiki," the gleeful look in her eyes worried Hirzen, but he was glad that she was on board.

"Ok Anko, why don't you grab Gaara's pack and help him settle into Naruto's apartment. Here's the address," he said, tossing her a scroll.

"Sayonara Hokage-sama," and with that she grabbed the pack and shusined out of the room.

_~ Ichiraku's ramen~_

"So Kakashi-san, what do you do for a living?" Naruto asked while slurping up his third bowl of ramen.

"Well I am an elite jonin, which is a high ranking shinobi."

"That's super cool, because I'm going to be Hokage someday, like jiji, dattebayo!"

Raising an eyebrow, Kakashi continued to observe his charges.

the quiet red headed boy and the loud hyper blonde. They were complete opposites, yet he could tell the bond they held was unbreakable. They reminded him of himself and Obito. He had always been calm and collected, while Obito would be loud and forgetful. They had become rivals and friends, and, he wouldn't trade their friendship for the world. And he would bet money these boys were the same way. As they left the stall, Kakashi could physically feel the emptiness of his wallet; Naruto had eaten seven bowls, and Gaara had eaten five.

Apparently being a jinchuuriki made you have an unreasonable love of ramen. Walking behind the boys, he felt things he hadn't felt since his dad's suicide. Glares and whispers, though they weren't directed at him, they were directed towards his blonde charge.

Without saying a thing Gaara grabbed Naruto's hand and smiled, reassuring him that he was not alone. The bond between them was greater than he had thought. Gaara had felt Naruto's sadness and knew how to fix it. They made it all the way to the outskirts of Konoha and before Kakashi realized that this was his old sensei's house. He wondered how the blonde twerp got the house the forth Hokage had lived in. Maybe the house belonged to the Hokage's, and the third decide to let Naruto live here?

As they walked into the house Kakashi immediately felt a genjutsu, which, judging by the amount of chakra, it was at least a B rank. Slipping his hiate from over his eye, he saw that it was an alert jutsu to inform who ever cast it if someone entered the field. He traced it back to the caster and found that it was the Hokage. He was glad that it was just for protection.

"Honey I'm home!" A voice rang through the small apartment, the door swung open, revealing a smiling Anko. A smiling Anko was never a good thing.

**Authors note: hey guys I hope you like it. If you have any suggestions I would love to hear them I have most of the plot figured out, but I am here to serve you guys. So suggestions are welcome love ya, Anabel.**


	4. Oh I love ramen

Previously: "Honey, I'm home," Anko yelled as she kicked the door in.

"I've always wanted to say that," she grinned madly, shrugging a bag off her shoulder before plopping down on the sagging couch.

"Hey Gaki, I brought your things for you to get settled in," Anko said to Gaara.

"Thank you Anko-san," Gaara replied, picking up the bag - which was half his size - with ease and carrying it into Naruto's room.

"Naruto, where do I put my things?"

"Umm, right here." He said pointing to his desk which is covered in junk

, Gaara wrinkled his nose in disgust as he slid the empty ramen cups and dirty clothes off the desk, and then carefully placed his pack on a spot of the desk that looked almost clean. He decided he would have to do some spring cleaning that week.

"So what do you do for a living, Anko-san?" Naruto asked, plopping down on the couch beside her.

"I am an elite jonin and a snake mistress; if you annoy me I can and will feed you to my little pets," she smiled madly.

"Tell us about yourselves," Kakashi said, flipping another page in his orange book without looking up.

"What do you want to know?" Gaara asked, not sure what to say.

"Your likes, dislikes, dreams, and so on," he replied, eyes never leaving his book.

"Well, I like ramen, training, and Gaara here. I dislike the three minutes it takes to cook ramen and my dream is to become Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned, pumping a fist in the air.

"I like sand, ramen, and Naruto. I dislike people who are cruel for no reason, and my dream is to become a great ninja who is very strong as well as a great medic, like Tsunade-sama." Gaara said. His dream surprised both of the jonin since most boys his age would rather blow things up, not heal things.

"What about the two of you?" Gaara asked.

"My likes are inappropriate for young ears, I dislike many things, and my dreams are classified." Kakashi stated vaguely

At this, the two boys sweat-dropped; they had learned nothing about him at all.

"You didn't tell us anything!" Naruto yelled, to which Kakashi shrugged uncommittedly, going back to reading his book.

"What about you?" Naruto asked Anko.

"Well, I like snakes and torture; I dislike pale snake bastards, and my dream is to kill a certain snake bastard," she said with sadistic glee in her eyes. When she finished, suddenly an ANBU shunshined into the small apartment and handed a scroll to Anko before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Biting her thumb, Anko slid it across the seal; once seal broke she uncurled the scroll and began to read.

"Sorry Gaki. Cyclops and I have been called for a meeting. See you later," she announced before pushing herself off the couch and heading for the door, but not before throwing two kunai –one landing beside Naruto's head the other by Gaara's. After sticking her tongue out at them she shut the door behind her.

After a few seconds the two boys came out of the trance from being used as targets.

"Hey Gaara, do you want to go play at the park?" Naruto suggested.

"Sure," he said with a smile before they both ran to the door.

Neither one had ever been happier than they were now; each boy finally had the friend he had always longed for.

~ The next month ~

"Morning, Gaara," Naruto mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Good morning, Naruto," Gaara replied, flipping another page in the huge book in his lap.

Naruto slipped off the couch and dragged himself over to the kitchen where that Gaara had set a bowl of ramen out for him. He began slurping up the noodles, and after a few minutes, he was fully awake from eating his delicious ramen. Looking around, he realized Gaara was entranced by the dusty book on the floor.

"What are you reading, Gaara?" he asked curiously.

"Anko-san lent it to me. She dropped it off last night while we were sleeping. It's about medical herbs and healing techniques," he answered, his eyes never leaving his book. Naruto never really liked reading, but Gaara loved it so he let him be.

After a few minutes, Naruto got anxious, as all six year olds with ADHD get after being still and quiet for too long.

"Do you want to go training?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"What would we do?" Gaara asked, looking up for the first time that morning.

"Well, we could do push-ups, curls, and running. Then after that we could do some kunai and shuriken practice," Naruto said, looking at Gaara with his best puppy eyes.

"Fine, but after that I get to read without any interruptions," Gaara teased.

"Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

~after training~

"That was fun," Naruto said, raising his arms behind his head as they headed to get some fresh ramen.

When they got to the ramen shop, a boy their age was sitting in the spot they always sat at. Plopping himself down beside the boy with Gaara going on the boys other side, Naruto began to talk to him.

"What's your name? I haven't seen you here before," Naruto asked, as Gaara sat in the chair on the other side of the boy.

"My name's Kiba Inuzuka, and yeah, I've never seen you here either which is weird cause I'm here almost all the time," Kiba said, his mouth watering at the wonderful smell of ramen.

"Yeah, us too! Ramen is the best food ever! I can eat it all the time," Naruto beamed a huge smile on his face.

"Not as much as me! I bet I could eat more than either of you," Kiba exclaimed cockily, grinning while showing off his pointed canines.

"Yeah right!" both Naruto and Gaara shouted at the same time.

"Well, we will see about that, won't we?" Kiba said as the chef's daughter set down three bowls, one for each boy.

On the ninth bowl, Gaara's eyes rolled back, and he immediately passed out.

On the fourteenth bowl, both of the spiky haired boys looked very green already. Not able to take it anymore, Kiba ran to the nearest trash can outside, quickly emptied his stomach. Not wanting lose he wobbled back to the stand and tried to eat more, but as he lifted the bowl up, he passed out too.

"Yes! I won Dattebayo!" Naruto yelped before he had the urge to throw up himself, rushing over to the same trashcan, soon passing out in between the other boys.

"Okay, Ayame it looks like it's time for us to close up the shop," Teuchi said shaking his head.

"Why are we closing early?" she asked, confused.

"Someone has to take these kids to the hospital." He sighed before heaving Gaara over one shoulder and Kiba over the other, Teuchi turned his should to look at Ayame. "Can you grab Naruto?" he asked

"Okay, Dad," she answered, before placing the small boy on her back. After locking the shop door following her dad down the road.

**_Author's note: Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter. I wanted to thankwhiteicewolf, kagomefan00, ikyoheii, and hyuga09. I love it that you review; it makes me want to write more. Love ya, Anabel _**


	5. hospitals and stupid idiots

_Previously: Naruto and Gaara have been taken to the hospital from eating too much._

**~around two o'clock in the afternoon~ **

'Man I don't feel so good,' Naruto thought as he sat up from his hospital bed and rubbed his head. Looking around, all he saw was a lot of white.

"Where am I?" He wondered aloud.

"We're in the hospital," Gaara clarified from behind the sheet opposite him, having been awake for the last few hours.

"Oh. Why are we here anyway?" Naruto asked.

"We had an eating competition with Kiba. And passed out from so much ramen The nurse said we all have a small case of hyperplasia and are required to recover in the hospital for the next few days," he explained.

"Well, who brought us here?"

"Ayame-nii-chan and Teuchi-sama did. They even filled out the paperwork."

"Okay, last question – who is over there?" Naruto asked, pointing to the other bed that he just noticed.

"That's Hinata-san. Nurse-san brought her in a little after I woke up and said that she has chakra exhaustion so we shouldn't wake her."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, trying to recall what it was, but to no luck, "What's chakra exhaustion?"

"Chakra exhaustion is where a person trains or works so hard that they use up all their chakra and pass out. At least, that's what it says in Anko-san's book."

"I wonder why she was training or working so hard," Naruto murmured out loud.

Getting up from his bed, he went to go investigate and see what she looked like. After a few steps, he stood besides her bed and was surprised at how small she appeared.

She looked around his age with very pretty dark purple hair and fair skin.

'She's beautiful! I feel like I like I need to protect her so that she's okay,' he thought unconsciously before leaning on the bed. Naruto felt at peace and calmer just by standing there, wondering why she made him feel that way.

In a daze, he began to stare out the window, but was pulled back to reality when he felt her grab his hand and snuggle it like a teddy bear. He tried to pull his hand out of her grip, but it was as if he was glued there.

"Gaara help me, I'm stuck," Naruto whispered to his friend. He then noticed that Gaara had fallen asleep and once he is asleep he doesn't wake for anything. This left Naruto to figure out the predicament on his own.

After a few minutes, he finally came up with a solution, but, to those who haven't noticed, Naruto wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch. The brilliant solution that he decided to go with was to just crawl into the bed next to her. (A.N. In case you were wondering, they are six years old. Just so you know.) He then went with his plan and crawled in the space between Hinata and the bed railing. Instantly, he fell asleep.

A few hours later, Naruto began to wake up. He opened his eyes and was very surprised to find Hinata's head on his chest and arms wrapped around him. He looked at her and began to brush the hair out of her face as she snuggled closer to him. Naruto had never had anyone come this close to him and he decided that he liked it. It was nice to feel another person's heartbeat.

He just laid there for a few more minutes and right as he was about to fall back to sleep he heard a small eep. Suddenly, he became very cold .Seeing that Hinata had just woken up and slid as far away from him as she could.

"What are y-you doing h-here?" she asked.

"I had an eating contest and got sick so I had to come here!" He answered quickly.

"No, I mean in my bed!"

"O-oh that. Well, I came over here to see who was over here, but then you grabbed my hand and wouldn't let it go. I got really tired so I just crawled in next to you, but then I woke up and you were on top of me. After that, you woke up too," He explained, a blush covering his tan nose and cheeks.

"Oh, sorry f-for being an i-inconvenience to y-you," she stuttered, pushing her fingers together in embarrassment.

"No, it was my fault. If I hadn't been curious this never would have happened," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"So what's your name?" she asked, still fidgeting with her fingers.

"It's proper to give your own before asking for another's name," Naruto teased.

"Oh I'm s-sorry," she apologized, bowing again.

"I was just kidding! You don't have to say sorry for everything," he said, lifting her chin so he could see her eyes, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"My n-names Hinata Hyuga," she introduced herself after regaining her composure.

"So you know how i got here, but why are you here?"

"This is my bed," she answered in confusion.

"No, I meant why you are in the hospital," he smiled at her answer.

"Oh sorry, I was c-confused. I w-was training w-with my father," she blushed.

"You don't have to apologize. It's pretty irresponsible of him to let his own daughter go into chakra exhaustion during training," he said, slightly annoyed at her father.

"No, it's n-not like that a-at all I'm t-the heir to a v-very powerful c-clan so I have t-to be very s-strong and he is j-gust t-trying to get me there," Hinata said in alarm.

Naruto wanted to continue, but stopped after seeing the look on her face. He just dropped it, "Okay I was wrong for jumping to conclusions." Immediately, she calmed back down.

"So, I've heard that the Hyugas can do this thing with their eyes, the byuakuga… no, that's not it… the byuahujan... nope, that's not it either," he groaned, putting his hand under his chin while thinking hard about the name.

Hinata giggled, "It is the Byakugan."

"Yeah, that! Hey, can I see it?" he asked eagerly.

"Well, the p-problem is t-that I can't u-use it yet, that w-why I train so h-hard. My cousin a-activated his w-when he was t-three and I'm s-six and haven't done it y-yet," she told him, burying her face in her hands.

"If I c-can't activate in the n-next few w-weeks my sister w-will be named h-heir and I w-will be disowned." At this point she was shaking and crying. By this time, Hinata's dad went even lower on the crappy dad-o-meter.

"It's okay Hinata. I don't know if I can help, but I'm sure going to try and I'm sure Gaara know something from all the books that he reads," he assured her, pointing to the snoring red head. Naruto then gave her a small hug, trying to make her feel better. To his luck, though, he let go just in time to hear the door slide open.

"What are you doing in Hinata-sama's bed?" a male voice inquired, making both six year olds whip around to see who it was. They both saw a boy with long brown hair and bandages wrapped around his forehead, looking at them with distain.

"Ano, we were j-just talking Neji-niisan," Hinata apologized while bowing low in her sitting position.

"Hiashi-sama asked me to check up on you since you weakly fainted during training," he spat out.

"Hey, what's your problem? She worked herself to the point of exhaustion!" Naruto argued, jumping to Hinata's defense literally.

"Shut up, you know nothing," Neji sneered venomously.

"That's crap! Hinata's my friend and no one treats my friends like that when I'm around!" Naruto shot back.

"Do you know who I am?" Neji proclaimed.

"Yep, you're a total jerk who has a stick so far up his butt that he can taste the bark," He insulted before going nose to nose with Neji felling in his face to get his point across, since Naruto hated people who put themselves on pedestals.

"You are a complete idiot. It will be fated one day for me to defeat you, and I can't wait for that day to come," Neji threatened, storming out of the room with the most emotion on his face that Hinata had ever seen from her cousin. Though, Naruto could probably rile up even an Aburame if he put his heart into it which he always does.

"What just happened," Gaara asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

At this, Naruto and Hinata both began to crack up.

~TBC~

_Authors Note: hope you guys like the latest chapter R&R . I want to thank some people for being loyal readers and reviewers kagomefan001 and hyuga09 thanks for reading till next time bye bye anabel._


	6. let's go to Kiri!

AN: Ya'll I'm back here is my newest chapter of switched hope you like it please review they make me so happy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except awesome plot right over here :P

Previously: "what happened?" Gaara asked rubbing the sleep out if his eyes at this both Naruto and Hinata cracked up at.

"Hinata, this is my best friend, Gaara. Gaara, this is Hinata," Naruto introduced after Gaara had come to sit with them on Hinata's bed.

"Hinata, who was that jerk just now, anyway?" Naruto questioned.

"That was my cousin Neji," Hinata replied.

"Then how come he just treated you like that? In a family, aren't you suppose to love each other?" Naruto asked, thinking about the family he'd always dreamed of.

"Well, that's not the way my family is," she whispered, hanging her head.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed, seeing her on the verge of tears. He enveloped her in a big hug.

"Ever since I was five, everything has just gotten worse – I was kidnapped by some big ninja. My father found out and went to save me. He killed the ninja that captured me after rescuing me, but those ninja turned out to be important leaders. Their village called for the death of the man who had killed them and that was when my father's brother, Neji's dad, said he would go in my father's place. Ever since then, Neji has blamed me for it because it was my fault. If I was stronger, I would've never been captured by those ninja," she sniffed before burying her face in her hands. Having the weight of your uncle's death and your cousin's hate on your shoulders was a lot for a seven year old.

"Hinata, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't have fought off full-fledged ninjas. Your cousin has no right to hate you. That would be like blaming a baby because their mother died in childbirth. It's not their fault, nor is it yours that your uncle died in place of your father," Gaara said. A rueful look was in his eyes while rubbing the shaking heiress' back, something his uncle had done when he was upset.

"But it just keeps getting worse! When the eldest child of the head of the clan turns six, any children of the head branch member gets sealed, that means it's my fault Neji is sealed," she said. By now, Naruto's hospital gown shoulder was wet with tears.

"That's not your fault either! It's not like you chose to make Neji have this sea you're talking about, and it's not that you agreed with the seal in the first place! You were just born in the wrong place at the wrong time!' Gaara tried to reason with her once more.

"What seal are you talking about, Hinata?" Naruto asked as Hinata pulled away from his shoulder.

"All Hyuga's that are branch members are sealed at least by the age of ten. The seal is used by the main house members to control or punish the branch members if they do not do as they should," Hinata recited from what she had always been told.

"That's terrible! No one should have that kind of control over a fellow villager! "Naruto said in disgust.

"That's what I've always thought, but no one in my family believes that."

"When I become Hokage, I will make sure that the seal will not be allowed," Naruto said, puffing out his chest. This made Hinata giggle.

"Hey Gaara, have you read anything about the byakugan in those big books Anko-nee gave you?" Naruto asked, not wanting to stay on the depressing subject they were on.

"I've read a little, why?"

"Hinata is trying to activate it and wanted to know if you had any tips."

"I can tell you all I know then," Gaara said with a small grin.

"First is that, when activated, the byakugan gives the user 355 degree vision."

"Gaara, the byakugan gives us 360 vision," Hinata interrupted, correcting him.

"That's what many people think, but everyone has a blind spot which is usually around this area somewhere," he said while tapping the back of her neck.

"I've never heard of that before," Hinata said, clueless.

"Most Hyuga's hate admitting weakness – they see that blind spot as a weakness though it hinders you even more if you have no idea it's there," Gaara said with such wise words from a young kid like himself.

"Have you read anything about activating it?" Naruto asked, eagerly hoping to help his new friend.

"I've only read one passage about it but that might help a little."

"You need to focus your chakra where I put my fingers, okay?" he said, resting his fingertips on Hinata's temples once he had scooted directly in front of her.

The two boys watched as her lips screwed together in concentration and were shocked seeing the veins on the side of her face growing and pushing out of the sides of her head.

As they were almost to her eye sockets, the window in the room swung open, revealing a masked ninja that had a Kiri Hiate wrapped around its forehead.

Seconds after he jumped through the window, he threw down smoke bombs filling the room with green smoke, effectively making the three seven year olds go unconscious (AN: BTW in case you didn't know, part of the deal in the pact between leaf and sand was that Gaara's seal was fixed by Jiraya so he can sleep without Shikaku coming for a visit ).

He scooped all three into sacks before swinging them over his shoulder and disappearing in a swirl of water. All this happened within a half-minute. No noise gave any signs of intrusion except the open window.

After about two hours, a nurse came in to check on the kids, only to find their beds empty and a small cloud around her ankles. Her clipboard clattered to the ground before she ran to the hokage office in a panic – she just lost three of probably the most important kids in the village.

~ The Hokage's office around 1pm ~

"Hokage!" the nurse exclaimed, bursting through his office doors completely out of breath.

"What is wrong, Eli?" he asked the nurse, seeing her name on her lab coat.

"The kids are gone!" she managed to say after catching her breath.

"What kids?" he asked with his eyebrows knitting together.

"Hinata Hyuga, Gaara no Sabaku and Naruto Uzumaki," she said with tears in her eyes.

"Teresa, find me Kakashi and Anko right now," he calmly asked his secretary, trying to keep a leveled head. He hoped they had just left to get some air or something of that sort.

"Mitarashi is returning from a mission and should be here in about four hours. Also, Hatake passed Izumo and Kotetsu at the gate an hour ago in need of medical help," she reported curtly, knowing time was of the essence in situations like this.

"Who was watching the two boys while they were on missions?"

"Yugao Uzuki," she answered after a few seconds of looking through files. He looked at his ANBU guards before deciding what to say

"Hawk and Panther. Go and find Yugao and Hatake," he commanded.

"Teresa, send someone to tell Hiashi what happened and another to fetch Shibi and Tsume if you please," he said, hoping that Kohona's best trackers would be able to find the three.

~Two hours or so out of Konoha~

Three Kiri ninja in a wedge formation were jumping from limb to limb at top speed. Each one had a sack over their shoulder, holding a small unconscious child.

"We have another two hours till we are in hot springs country and out of Kohona's grasp," the head of the formation called out. The other two in the unit nodded before looking ahead. Knowing they would be in for hell if they got caught and taken back as prisoner in Konoha.

~back in Konoha around 1:30ish~

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice," the Hokage said, resting his chin on his fingers that were laced together.

"Hawk and Panther, report if you please."

Panther stepped forward before speaking, "Yugao was found unconscious at her post. She was drugged by an unknown substance that is going through lab testing as of now," he finished, stepping back into the line of ninja.

"Thank you. Shibi and Tsume, I need you to send out your best trackers in search of Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga and Gaara no Sabaku," he said before giving each of them hair samples the medics had pulled from the children's pillows and blankets at the hospital.

"Kakashi, you are going to be leading the team once the trail is found."

To this, Kakashi's eyebrow shot into his headband in surprise, "They were kidnapped? Finding their guard unconscious tell me that is the case. Have you sent a message to Anko?"

"Hai, I sent Pakkun with a letter as soon as I heard about the boys being missing."

"Very well, if either of you get any sign they are out of the village, myself and Kakashi need to be the first to know," the Hokage stated, looking at the two clan heads.

"Hai." He watched as they left the room and lit his pipe watching Kakashi.

"This is all my fault. I should have reported to them as soon as I came through the gate," Kakashi said, sitting down and burying his face in his hands.

"It's not your fault you needed medical help, Kakashi, nor is it Yugao's. We have learned to be more careful of those three after they are back home. I am putting Anko on guard duty full time and you will relieve her when you are not on missions," the Hokage instructed, looking to check if this was okay with the man before him.

"Thank you, Hokage. I just want to make sure Minato's kid is safe. It's the least I can do for him after everything he did for me."

"Kakashi, find those kids. If anyone can find them, it's you," the Hokage said with a grin before tossing the jonin a scroll, giving him certification for a mission.

"Hai, I will do my best." Kakashi said, before disappearing in a swirl of leafs.

~TBC~

AN: Hey guys hoped you liked the newest addition to switched, I hope you liked it.

I have a secret the three kids are going to find friends on their way back to Konoha, try and guess who they will be and I'll tell you if you right!


	7. A new girl

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

previously: "Kakashi find those kids if anyone can it's you"

"Have you found anything?" Kakashi asked the trackers. He was trying very hard not to shout that they weren't doing enough or working hard enough, but a ninja must be in control of his emotions, and so, he remained as calm as he could.

It had been almost 24 hours since the kidnapping and they still had no news from any of the trackers, even Tsume andShibi had gone out themselves to help search.

Kakashi frowned as all three trackers in front of him shook their heads showing they had also found nothing. He had been with those boys for a little under four months andstarted training them a little over two months ago withAnko.

Since then, he considered them his little brothers – Narutoreminded him so much of his sensei and Obito, while Gaara's reserved nature and healing interest reminded him of Rin.

He didn't think he could handle losing either of the boys and he was sure Anko felt the same. She got into the leaf about eighteen hours ago and as soon as she heard about the boys she sent every snake she could summon out to track them, and he had done the same.

Both the boys had chiseled away the ice around both his and Anko's heart unknowingly, and now they could feel the pain of losing them.

They could only hope and pray they would find the boys safe and alive.

- Hot Springs County-

After hengeing into three civilians with rather bulky suitcases, the three kiri ninja checked into a hotel. They hadn't wanted to sleep in the forest with the possibility of trackers near by. Each of them took a kid out of a sack and tied their wrists and ankles before gagging them. All three seven year olds continued to remain unconscious from the gas.

"Hey, I saw a bar down the street. Lets get some sake and chicks," the leader said to his subordinates who all nodded in agreement.

This kidnapping had taken three months to prepare, and lucky for them, all three of the kids happened to all be in the hospital at the same time and in the same room. They were perfect for the picking too. All their Kage had asked for was the two jinchuriki, but a Hyuga would please him as well.

"We have to be back by at least three hours since the brats will be awake by then." They all agreed then went to go find that bar for a job well done.

About a half hour after they had left, Naruto began to stir from unconsciousness. He opened his eyes, yawned then tried to wipe the sleep out of his eyes, only to realize that he was all tied up and if that doesn't wake you up I don't know what does.

"Dang it, not again!" he hissed under his breathe. This wasn't the first time this had happened to him or Gaara, but it was the first in the past few months.

He looked around and realized Hinata and Gaara were with him as well. He averted his eyes on his bindings and realized how easy it would be to get out of the contraption he was in. These kidnappers were amateur at best. He carefully and skillfully wormed his way over to the radiator where he saw a sharp edge under the moonlight.

After about ten minuets, the ropes on both his wrists and ankles were cut and he ripped off his gag before rushing to untie Gaara and Hinata.

After another ten minutes, his friends were finally releasedand Gaara had woken up, but no matter what they did,Hinata wouldn't wake up so they decided to carry her.

Gaara helped Naruto settle Hinata on his back before they escaped the hotel. As silently as they could, the seven-year-olds ran into the forest opposite the way towards Kohona.

During their rush, a piece of Gaara's red scarf got caught on a rough edge and they had to rip it off.

Neither of the boys had made a sound since they left the Hotel – both of them had experienced this before more than once and didn't want to have to talk about it.

They would switch Hinata between themselves every fifteen minuets and after about two hours they came upon a stream and decide to stop for a rest. Naruto gently laid Hinata against a tree before he knelt down to drink from the stream. After many gulps, he finally began to speak.

"Gaara, do you have any idea where we are, or why we are awake, but Hinata's not?" he asked, wiping his mouth on his arm.

"I believe that this leaf was in the book of foliage of the wave county that Kakashi gave me, and the reasoning forHinata's slumber is probably the sleeping gas, though you and I inhaled it as well. We have very fast metabolisms,meaning our bodies metabolize food and it into turn gas much faster.

Gaara knew this was bad – he was usually a quiet person,but Naruto was always loud and happy. The blond only got quiet when something terrible happened or if they were in danger.

-Flashback-

About a month ago was Naruto's birthday. Naruto, Gaara and Anko went to the festival to celebrate the Kyubi'sdefeat with everyone else.

They were about three minutes from the festival and fromNaruto's house. To this point, they'd been attacked about four times, all of which Anko protected them from, but still… it's the thought that counts – the thought of wanting Naruto dead.

Then at the festival, only three stands had let them play any games – the ramen shop and two stands with people who had never lived in the hidden village and only came for the festival.

After the tenth stand denied Naruto, he went completely silent, not meeting the gazes of Gaara and Anko.

Seeing what these people did to her little brother's usually happy cheerfully attitude, Anko went berserk. She upturnedthree of the stands that had denied Naruto before ANBU could calm her down, not that they tried very hard having seen the way Naruto was treated as well.

The next morning, Ibiki walked into his office and found about twenty-seven people tied and gagged. A little note from Anko was also left, telling him of their crime. He smiled almost evilly and remembered why he loved his job– he got to torture idiots who thought they were smarter than the Hokage and decided to mess with Naruto. Ibikihad been one of his temporary guards before he became head of T&I and had grown quite attached to the little ball of energy.

The whole next week, none of them could get a word out of Naruto and they all noticed he was crying himself to sleep and they hated seeing him so down.

After that week ended, he finally began talking again, and gradually returned to the happy-go lucky kid he was, but it took about a month for the sadness to leave his eyes.

-Flashback end-

"Well, from what I can tell by the moon, its around eleven," Naruto said, remembering the time telling lessons Kashi-nee had given him.

"How much longer do you think we should run?" Gaara asked, knowing he could probably only stay awake a few more hours since he wasn't as physically inclined as Naruto. The running had taken a lot out of him since a seven year old can only do so much.

"We should probably go at least two hours to be safe, then try and make it to the wave village if we can to get direction and supplies," he answered.

"Naruto, how are we going to get supplies? We don't have any money," Gaara questioned.

"We are going to do what I did before I met you, Anko-nee and Kashi-nee. Steal. I know you don't like it, but we have to do what we need to do if we want to get back toKohona."

"Okay Naruto, if you say so," Gaara complied with a grimace. He hated stealing even though he had done it on occasion when he was absolutely starving.

He carefully picked up the heiress and gave Naruto a nod, showing he was ready to go.

They set out again, running beside the river so wherever they would stop they would be near water cause when traveling in an unknown territory, water was a necessity.

After another hour, Hinata began to stir. 'Where am I?" she wondered watching as the trees went by. She then looked in front of her and found a tangled mess of red hair. She looked down and realized she was on someone's back, and that someone was Gaara.

After this realization, she promptly fainted.

Another hour passed and she woke up again, this time leaning against a tree. Her eyes wandered around until they took sight of Naruto and Gaara both drinking from a stream near by.

"W-where am I?" she wondered again, though this time she spoke out loud and looked at the dark and scary forest that surrounded her.

"You are in between the hot springs country and wave country," Gaara answered, to her surprise. This made Hinata even more confused than before.

"W-why?"

"We were kidnapped in the hospital," Naruto provided,having finished his drink.

"How d-do you k-know where w-we are?" she asked,looking towards Gaara.

"Some plants only grow in certain areas due to climates and pressure," he told her as if reading from a book.

"W-what are we g-going to do?" she squeaked, beginning to push her fingers together in a way that she had to be double-jointed.

"We are going to the wave to get directions and figure out how to get home," Naruto answered hesitantly, not sure ifshe was ready to find out that they were going to steal food and maybe more if need be.

"Do you think your okay to run?" Naruto asked

"Yes, I'm f-fine," she answered, trying to sound confident,which was hard with her disgraceful stutter.

As Gaara was about to say something more, a girl about their age came bursting threw a bush. She was covered in dirt and a little bit of blood, her mint green hair was all tangled and matted.

She looked utterly exhausted and scared with the face of alost abused puppy look. Hinata felt her heart soar out to the girl. She looked like Naruto whenever she would see him sitting on the swing near the academy sometimes. She looked at them with fear in her eyes before collapsing to the forest floor unconscious.

Hinata rushed to her side as did the others and beganchecking her pulse. She noticed Gaara was checking the girl's pulse as well.

Hinata knew the girl couldn't properly be healed until she was clean and went to work. After sending the boys away, she began peeling the grime-covered clothes off the girl.

After her two shirts were off, Hinata gasped at the fact thatshe could easily count every rib. She even noticed that her hipbone pointed out, showing the girl's malnourishment of food.

Once the girl's clothes were off she gentle picked her up,noticing she weighed about as much as her three-year-oldsister.

She carefully placed her in the cool water and began to try and scrub the grime off her body with the moonlight shining down upon them.

After about ten minutes, the girl was finally somewhat clean. Hinata pulled her out of the water and dried her off with her own light summer jacket.

Examining her once again, Hinata noticed all the scratched and cuts were gone as if they had never been. She eventually noticed the girl had started to shiver and called over to the boys to see if they had any extra clothes she could cover the girl with since hers were dirt caked ones.

The boys threw her a long red scarf and an orange vest a few minuets later. She immediately used it to wrap the girl from her torso to her ankles. Even though summer was just around the corner, the nights were still a bit cool.

"Naruto, Gaara, y-you can c-come out n-now," she said softly, beginning to wash the girl's clothes in the stream. She washed her once pristinely white shirt and top, then her log fishnet shirt that covered her midriff and, lastly, her black spandex shorts. It took about ten minutes, but the clothes were as close to clean as they were going to get without soap.

Hinata began to wring out the wet clothes. She wassurprised when Gaara joined her once they were all wrung out and laid on a tree to finish drying.

"I-it will p-probably take about an hour f-for her c-clothes to d-dry. W-why don't you two r-rest?" Hinata offered,knowing they must have been tired from having to carry her.

"Are you sure, Hinata?" Gaara asked with concern showing in his eyes for his second friend he'd ever had.

"I-'m sure," she said, giving them a smile.

That was all the conformation either boy needed before they started to get ready for sleep. Both were exhaustedfrom running about two and a half hour with a person the same size as them. It was indeed tiring even if Anko andKakashi had been training them the past two months. They were still kids after all.

Once both of the boys lied down, they quickly fell asleep and quietly began to snore, causing Hinata to stifle a giggle.

She then watched over the strange girl they had stumbled upon or maybe the other way around. For some reason, she felt drawn to the girl much like she was drawn to Naruto and Gaara. The vibe all three gave off was calming, yet you could feel they had great strength. It was a different strength than her Father or Neji had though, but it mightjust be her imagination. Her mother had once told her to go with her gut and that was something she planned to do.

Hinata turned her gaze to each person in the room – Naruto, Gaara… and then the girl. After taking a good look at all of them, confidence was now written all over her face as she set a goal for herself.

She would definitely protect the three, as if they were her own siblings. This she swore.

Thats the end I chapter seven hope to liked it:) if you did pm me or tell me in a review if you did t you can tell me that as well. Well hope to see you next time switched appears! Love Anabel


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